Letter from a Client - Cathedral Counseling
Transcript of Letter from a Client - Cathedral Counseling
Dear Cathedral Counseling Center,
My parents divorced when I was three and my
father died when I was nine years old. That’s
when I first started therapy. Since then I’ve been
in and out of therapy, seeing
a total of about six different
therapists. I never stayed
with one person for longer
than a year and I never went
because I truly wanted to.
I only went because loved
ones thought it was best
for me.
When I first started com-
ing to Cathedral about two
years ago, it had been three
years since I had last been
to therapy. It was my own
choice to go this time. I
was almost 25 years old and
had just ended a relationship
with someone I thought I
was going to marry. I needed someone to tell me
I was going to be okay if I ended my relationship,
but that was the least of the things that I needed.
However, my therapist Bruce never once told
me what I was supposed to do or how I was
supposed to feel. He just listened and guided
me until I found out things about myself I never
would have otherwise. I’ve struggled with finding
happiness my whole life but now I truly feel like
I’m discovering things about myself and learning
how to make myself happy
for the first time in my life.
And I couldn’t have done it
without Bruce.
Like I said, I’ve seen many
therapists in my life and
never liked any of them
enough to continue ther-
apy. But I enjoy therapy
now and go for myself,
not anyone else. And I
have finally found a thera-
pist that I am comfortable
with and feel helped me
begin to find myself. None
of this would have been
possible without Cathedral
Counseling and that is why
I am choosing to share my story. I am truly grate-
ful for all the financial contributions that make my
therapy possible.
-- A Client, February 2010
Letter from a Client
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A M E M B E R A G E N C Y O F E P I S C O PA L C H A R I T I E S A N D C O M M U N I T Y S E R V I C E S
this issue2010 Event Highl ights P.2
Mental Heal th in the News P.6
Professional Development News P.7
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.....I’ve seen many thera-
pists in my life and never
liked any of them enough
to continue therapy. But I
enjoy therapy now and go
for myself, not anyone else.
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As evidenced by a lot of
happy people in the many
photos taken, everyone who
attended had a lot of fun! Food
and drinks were excellent and
plentiful. Bidding was hot and
heavy for the live and silent
auction items. And everyone
had a good time chatting with
old and new friends.
A big THANK YOU to all
the wonderful supporters who
made our 2010 Benefit suc-
cessful from both fundraising
and friend-raising perspec-
tives.
2010 Benefit a Success!
Bishop Jeff Lee blesses usLoretta Ferlauto
Tony Ceravolo, Lisa Rone
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Our live auctioneers – Nina Ric-cardi & Willie Cade
BENEFIT SPONSORS
(donated $1,000 or more)
Chalmers Development
Barbara Fleming-Claussen
Christy & Paul Fisher
Philip Hale
Bishop Jeffrey & Lisa Lee
Nash Disability Law
BENEFIT DONORS
Penny & Steel Bokhof
Jeanne Claussen-Leibson
Bill Cosper
The Very Rev. Robert Dekker
Mary Dilg & Russell Vandenbroucke
Judy Durand
Freida Friedman
Don & Martha Garnett
Sally Harding
Michelle Hofmeister
Jan & Louise Leestma
Susan & Roger Lumpp
Nancy & Mark McDermott
Larry & Cathy McEnerney
Bishop James Montgomery
David & Connie Morrison
James Nagle
Patrick & Sara Nash
Thomas Opferman
Alan & Nora Orschel
Kenneth Pearlman
Gerald & Geri Sherman
Karen Skerrett
Barbara Spencer
Kathy & Jim Swager
Casmir & Dorothy Szczepaniak
Elsa Vaintzettel
Christy Fisher, Katie & Andrew Donnelly, Fred Krol, Stephan Roberts, Amy Young
Elizabeth Reis, Fred LeBaron, Elaine Dempesy, Jon & Norma Hagstrom
Beatriz Ledesma, Amy Zajakowski-Uhll, Carol Connell, David Wick
Counseling Staff enjoying dinner
TICKET, RAFFLE, & AUCTION
ITEM PURCHASERS
(*Honorary Event Committee Members)
Bruce Aaron
Pat Alvino & Nora Winsberg
Shisha Amabel & Tony Ceravolo
Annie Avery & Alison Gross
Dawn Baity
Susan Barrish
Patty Black
John & Judy Bross *
Mario Bufo & John Deneen
Kenneth Busch & Joy Ketelhut
John Cecilia
Carol Connell & Doug Longhini
Peter & Molly Delevett
Thomas DesMarais
Art & Kathleen Donner
Christy Drackett
M.E. & Katie Eccles
Salli Eley *
Colleen Fahey
Loretta Ferlauto & Richard Sanderson
T.J. & Karen Ferrantella *
Sarah Fisher *
Ruth Geller
Maggie Gibbs & Bob Feldman
Robyn Golden * & Natalie Ross
Bob & Susan Green
Roger Gumm
Jon & Norma Hagstrom
Don Halperin & Tamara Newell
James & Charlcye Hawk
Mrs. Miriam Hoover
Fred & Elizabeth LeBaron
Jim Lenz
Bob Marks
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4
TICKET, RAFFLE, & AUCTION
ITEM PURCHASERS con’t.
(*Honorary Event Committee Members)
David & Constance Matthews
Susan & Alan Melsky
Anna Minkov
Ann & Tom Nash
Greg O’Leary & Pat Kenney
Susan Peckham
Elizabeth Powley
Patricia Rafferty
Meghan Reilly
Nina Riccardi
Stephan Roberts & Amy Young
Leigh & Andy Rocklin
Ida Roldan *
Joy Rogers
Andrew Schaefer
Pat Schildknecht
Armando Smith
George & Cecilia Smith
Roy Smith & Julie Ris
Jane Stastny
Jason Stell & Kate Glickman
Susan & Errol Stone
Vickey Sultzman
Joel Susman
Michael Tobin
Diane Todd & Jeanette DeFriest
Judith Tribbett
John David Van Dooren * & Gary Norcross
Cindy Walls
Joan Ward *
David Wick
Hak Wong & Michael Hess
Chris & Julie Wood
The Lucy Smith Jazz Group
Jason Stell , Hardye Simons Moel, Kate Glickman, Martha Harrell, Don Moel
Maureen Kelly welcomes guests as Willie Cade prepares for live auction
Joan Ward, Susan & Jeff Dillon, Joe Chandler, Jon Hagstrom
Chris & Julie Wood
Scott Williams, Miriam Hoover, Stephen Leary
M.E. Eccles, Sarah Fisher, Anthony Vaccaro, Katie Eccles
Salli Eley, TJ & Karen Ferrantella, Art & Kathy Donner
AUCTION ITEM DONORS
Salli Eley & Roger Gumm
Christy & Paul Fisher
Miguel Gernaey
Maggie Gibbs
Nancy Kimble & Leigh Stewart
Doug Longhini
Hardye Simons Moel
Ann Nash
Nina Riccardi
Michelle Hofmeister
Lucie Prebel
Ken Burnstein
Philip Hale
Andrea Knepper
Darrel Wood
Sarah Ruhl
Patrick Somerville
Shauna Seliy
Goldie Goldbloom
Ben & Susan Melsky
Staff of Cathedral Counseling Center
Board of Cathedral Counseling Center
Kiki’s Bistro
Keefer’s Restaurant
Harbor Country Day Spa
Italian Village Restaurant
Anchor Graphics
Columbia College Chicago
Om on the Range Yoga Studio
DONORS OF SERVICES
Binny’s
Willie Cade, auctioneer
Kate Denley Photography
Marcello’s Catering
Maxim’s, The Nancy Goldberg International Center
The Lucy Smith Quartet
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Recurring Depression
Mental Health in the News
Jane M. Von Bergen
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Wed, Oct. 7, 2009
Unemployed people are four times more likely to experi-
ence severe mental-health issues, including depression, than
people with jobs, according to a survey released October 6,
2009 by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental
Health America. According to the survey, severe mental ill-
ness is also twice as likely to affect people who have expe-
rienced a forced job change, such as cuts in pay or hours.
“Compounding the problem, when you lose your job, you
lose your health insurance, and then you lose your ability
to pay for treatment,” said Michael J. Fitzpatrick, executive
director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an advo-
cacy group in Virginia.
In fact, 13 percent of the unemployed say they have seri-
ously considered harming themselves, the survey showed.
The findings come as no surprise to Cheryl Spaulding, leader
of Joseph’s People, a support group for the unemployed at
St. Joseph’s Church in Downingtown. In her 14 years as a
leader, several among the thousands of people who have
joined the group have killed themselves. “They were unem-
ployed people who lost their hope,” she said. “Depression
and the loss of hope are the biggest battles unemployed
people fight.”
Survey finds mental-health troubles rise in jobless
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Dr. Charles Raison, Psychiatrist
Emory University Medical School
Our best official data suggest that about 15 percent of
American adults will experience a major depressive episode
during their lifetimes. However, if you have one episode of
depression, the chance of having a second episode increases
to 50 percent. That is a 300 percent increase in risk, and it
shows the tremendous effect that depression has on the brain
and the body. If you’ve had two episodes of depression, your
chances of having a third episode increase to 75 percent.
Once you’ve had three or more episodes of depression, your
chances of becoming depressed again approach 100 percent.
The notion of kindling has been taken up as a metaphor
to describe the fact that people usually need something bad
to happen to have a first episode of depression, but that over
time, the depressive episodes seem to just happen spontane-
ously. The idea here is that depression damages the brain
in ways that make it easier and easier for people to fall back
into depression the more often they experience a depressive
episode. Thus although the old cliché says “that which doesn’t
kill me makes me stronger,” for most people, it is truer to say
“that which doesn’t kill me makes me depressed.” Sadly, for
most people, stress doesn’t lead to strength, it leads to brain
damage.
So if someone is really serious about never being depressed
again, the best course of action is to find an antidepressant
that works and has tolerable side effects and stay on it chroni-
cally. In addition, one should have access to a competent psy-
chotherapist so that life issues can be faced early on, before
they lead to depression. In addition, reduce the stress in your
life to manageable levels by making choices that will foster
good interpersonal relationships and that will give your life a
sense of purpose.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/expert.q.a/11/17/
depression.recurrence.raison/
On Not Turning Away
Professional Development Workshop Series Fall ’09 - Spring ‘10
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This year’s Professional Development
Workshop Series was well-attended with
25-30 participants at each of the three work-
shops. The theme this year focused on one
of the most challenging aspects of clinical
practice: staying connected to people who
are in great psychic distress. How do we
face, and feel, their suffering without need-
ing to turn away or becoming overwhelmed?
We explored, shared, and reflected on
the experiences of suffering, healing and
forgiveness. We learned how some of the
great faith traditions and psychological theo-
ries understand those aspects of human
existence and behavior. And we looked at
our real-life experiences, identifying how we
as clinicians can keep looking and listen-
ing to even the hardest parts of our clients’
stories.
“Excellent workshop! Much to think about
and digest. Feeling well fed!
“You take the forbidden topics and make us
able to look at them.”
“I selected this series because the topic is
very relevant to my practice, the quality of
previous CCC offerings, and the opportunity
to connect with the CCC community.”
“Nice open engaging presentation style with
a lot of good research”
“Thoughtful & intelligent … demonstrated
the complexity of the context for forgiveness
on a clinical level.”
“Great combination of theory and practice.”
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BENEFIT PHOTOS INSIDE
Breaking News: Northern Trust Char i table Trust awards grant of
$5,000 to Cathedral Counsel ing Center
C AT H E D R A L C O U N S E L I N GC E N T E R
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